


Lightning Rod

by stellations



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-10-29 00:11:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10842387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellations/pseuds/stellations
Summary: Helen asks Nikola to come to the Surface with her to search for a rare Abnormal that is very far away from its home.





	1. Every breath a new day

**Author's Note:**

> I did say I'd be back...  
> Titles from _Still Falling For You_ by Ellie Goulding  
>  I'm no scientist, so apologies if the Abnormal names are completely weird.  
> And special thanks to my darling non-AO3 friend for Abnormal brainstorming!

The trouble with being so far underground was that weather was more or less non-existent. Helen's fake sun in the cavern's "sky" helped somewhat, but even she could never deny that the lack of proper Surface weather was disturbing at times. She would, however, deny that Nikola's mutterings and complaining had ever made her _really_ think about it. 

The truth was that she was surprised he hadn't disappeared to the Surface himself yet, especially given what had happened with the electromagnetic ants not long ago. It couldn't be because he _liked_ it down here and surely she wasn't the _entire_ reason he had stayed. After all, he had already proven that he wasn't above taking time off to wander down below. 

So why not above as well?

It was puzzling to Helen and she found herself imagining what she would do if she _did_ take Nikola to the Surface sometime. Running a hand over the Praxian technology built into her office, she pondered the idea of returning to the Surface. Not for long; she couldn't risk being seen if she could at all help it. But perhaps enough time for him to metaphorically smell the fresh air. 

"Magnus?"

Helen blinked herself out of her reverie as the hologram of Declan MacRae popped up from the projector on her desk. Reaching for it, she activated the return hologram. "Declan? Is something wrong?" He rarely contacted her without warning like this unless there was something worth looking into. At this point, Declan had become her right hand, her eyes on the Surface outside of SCIU, and she would have no one else on the job.

"We've been getting reports coming out of the Old City area," he explained, touching a couple of things on his tablet. Helen noticed weather satellite imagery and bird watcher reports sliding onto her computer's screen. "Over the last few hours, a nasty thunderstorm has popped up, almost out of nowhere. Satellite imagery shows that it's far more intense than a storm at this time of the year should be. Frequent cloud-to-ground strikes, heavy rain. Even hail."

A frown touched Helen's face, knitting her brows as she scanned the information Declan had provided. "And bird watchers have spotted a hawk-like creature flying through it." Her frown deepened. "Why are bird watchers out in a storm?"

"No idea," Declan admitted with a shrug. "But the descriptions match one _Buteo jamaicensis fulmens_."

Helen's expression flipped to one of mild surprise and concern. "That species shouldn't even _be_ here. Its preferred territory is on the Great Plains."

"There's more. Its most rare food source is around, too."

Helen's eyes slipped closed for a half second. " _Damn_ ," she swore softly. "We'd better get a team out to capture that hawk. Alert our colleague in Dallas that we'll have a relocation procedure in short order."

"Done."

"And have Gavin stand by just in case we need to keep SCIU off the trail."

"Of course. Let's hope this works."

It better. She wasn't in the mood to lose another rare Abnormal. Though as she sat there thinking about whom to take with her, she couldn't help but think vaguely of Nikola. He had always loved storms and lightning had once been such an integral part of him. She could offer to take him up to the Surface with her for this and at least his magnetism might be of some use to her. It would give them a chance to see _something_ of the Surface together. She missed real adventures with him sometimes. 

Even if they did occasionally involve SCIU or electromagnetic ants.

Pushing herself out of her chair, she stood and headed through the underwater section of the Sanctuary and across to the residential wing, where she pushed open the door to her room. He could easily have been in the lab he had appropriated for his own use, but she had a feeling he would be here right now. For some reason, he really seemed to like her bedroom now that she had given him permission to be in there any time he wanted.

The door opening to reveal her favorite vampire was all the answer she needed. Even if the sight did come with his favorite smirk.

"Why, Helen. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

She resisted the urge to tell him to cut the crap, mostly because she _did_ like it, obnoxious as it sometimes was. At least this meant that he was in a good mood. 

"I've just gotten word that there's a rare species of red-tailed hawk flying around on the Surface," she explained, keeping her expression as normal as possible. She couldn't afford for him to call her bluff today, not if she wanted to keep the real reason she was asking him to come with her a secret. "It needs to be relocated to the Dallas area so it doesn't destroy the local population of firefly."

His eyebrows rose, clearly willing to call _part_ of her bluff. "And you need me?" he asked in a tone of mock surprise. "What about the children?"

"Will's on a date with Abby and I think Henry's more concerned with how settled Erika is," Helen pointed out evenly, despite the fact that both of these were complete lies. "Her pregnancy is coming close to term by now."

Nikola's nose wrinkled and his lip curled in what was obviously mock distaste. Obvious to her at least. "Right. We're about to have Heinrich Junior enter the underground. Well, I guess we'll all have to invest in earplugs."

"That won't be necessary." Mainly because the rooms were soundproof and he knew it. "I could use your magnetism."

"You'll always have it," he replied without missing a beat.

She rolled her eyes in return, pushing further into the room so she could go about getting into more suitable clothes. Three-inch heels would not do for this sort of mission.

"The firefly is this hawk species' favorite meal and is also just as rare," she continued, as though nothing had interrupted her. "Not only does the firefly's bioluminescence catch the hawk's attention, but the bird feeds off of the heat it produces during its mating ritual."

"I guess it's really putting a new meaning to the phrase heated attraction."

Helen lifted her head briefly to glare at the ceiling. She'd walked right into that one.

"They use the heat to incubate their eggs, so showing off how much heat they produce is a sign of sexual prowess, as well as the idea that they'll be a good caretaker for the eggs."

"If you're going to start asking me to flash a light every time I end up in your bed, I'm saying no to this little venture."

"Can you focus for five minutes?" she asked with a frustration that was mostly insincere. 

"Absolutely," he replied as she turned around, clothes in hand, and began to change. The way his eyes roamed over her for a second told her just what he was focusing _on_. 

"Both of these Abnormals are rare and I would rather not lose the firefly because the hawk is well out of its normal territory. I'll need your help, Nikola."

"Helen Magnus," he spoke, his voice teasingly incredulous. "Are you asking me on a date?"

For once, she gave his flirtations actual consideration. "Would it change your mind if I said yes?"

"Considering I was planning on joining you anyway... no." 

He grinned, a look that was far less guarded than anything he would ever be caught _dead_ showing in public and she couldn't help the smile that crossed her own face. Only Nikola could get that from her these days. Only her love.

"Well, then, you'd better get ready, _Nikki_ ," she told him with the same tone of voice she had once used to tell James to suck it up. She knew just how much he hated that nickname. "We're going to the Surface."

The look of entirely genuine distaste on his face this time was absolutely worth whatever retaliation he might come up with later and the laugh she gave as she darted into the bathroom to finish getting ready was almost akin to a cackle of mirth. If their trip was to hold more such exchanges, she thought she might enjoy it even more than she previously imagined. She always did love a good adventure with him after all and this had the added bonus of a chance to surprise him with something he loved. That opportunity didn't come about very often.


	2. Like rain and blue skies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You knew, didn't you?" he accused, once he had pulled himself together again. "Is this the real reason you wanted to bring me up here?"
> 
> She nodded, pursing her lips to hide her smile even as she looped her arm around his and started guiding them both through the dark streets of Old City. "I thought you could use a good storm to cheer you up. I know how much you've always liked them."
> 
> "Well... I have to admit... it's working."

"You sure this is a good idea?"

Helen paused in her walk through the halls of the Sanctuary, turning to face Will with a pleasant smile that said she would not be dissuaded. Ever since their encounter with the electromagnetic ants and the ensuing conversations, Helen and Will had finally rediscovered their common ground. Things weren't _exactly_ as they once had been, but they were now very close. With that closeness had come their normal relationship and now that Will was more willing to poke and prod at Helen without taking pointed potshots at her, she felt more relaxed than she had in over a year. 

"I'll be careful," she assured him, knowing that he wasn't talking entirely about the storm or about taking Nikola somewhere. 

"Why don't I come with you? Henry and I can play the distraction card if someone happens to come by. We don't want SCIU catching wind that you're still alive."

His arms were folded over his chest, but he was smiling anyway. The look on his face suggested that he might be more relaxed than he had been in that year, as well. Time seemed to have done them wonders. Time and that long and involved talk. 

"It's the middle of the night, Will," she pointed out. "And there's a storm out."

Realization crossed Will's face and Helen knew she was in for it. 

"Oh, I see," he said before she could clamp down on it. 

"As much as I love them, I don't think I appreciate being called a storm."

Nikola's voice floated down the hall towards them and both Helen and Will turned to see him walking nearer. _Sauntering_ near would be the better description. He never did simply _walk._

Helen glanced at Will, shooting him a look that said not to blow her cover. He responded with a shrug, like they were simply making unspoken comments about Nikola's timing or the latest thing he could do. 

"True, you haven't been in a _stormy_ mood lately," Helen agreed, turning to lead Nikola away. 

Will’s eyebrows rose as she passed him. “Enjoy your date.”

Helen didn’t need to turn around to picture the smirk on Nikola’s face in response. She did roll her eyes, though, as she led Nikola back to their bedroom suite to finish final preparations. She had already packed up the food and equipment they would both need for this trip, including several guns, both normal ammo and tranq rounds, a couple of stunners, and Henry’s “Magnus Slinger,” which still needed a new name. She had snacks for herself and enough of the serum to last Nikola for quite a while. Also inside was other equipment for capturing the bird. Couldn't go wrong with plenty of options.

"You still haven't told me what we're _actually_ doing here, Helen," Nikola commented once they were further along the path up to the Surface.

Helen frowned, deciding to play dumb. "We're going to capture an Abnormal bird. Save a few lives. Remember?"

"You're a terrible liar, you know," he pointed out casually, as though they were only talking about the rock faces or the lack of weather underground. As though he were _bored_ of their conversation, perish the thought.

"Me?" she asked incredulously, as though offended by the entire proposition. "I kept the secret of my new Sanctuary from the entire _world_ for a hundred and thirteen years. None of you could even guess at it that last year."

"Yes, but Helen, I knew you were hiding something." His tone had turned uncharacteristically serious and as Helen glanced at him, she saw the signs of worry in his eyes. Worry about what she didn't quite know. But she could guess. "Even _William_ knew. We never guessed what it was, but we all knew it was something."

That was a fair point and Helen acknowledged it with a tilt of her head and a sideways nod. "It's nothing nearly so serious this time."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Promise!"

He grumbled a bit more, but seemed placated by the fact that she was at least acknowledging his point. Accepting it as the reality it was, rather than denying everything, as was her tendency. She figured doing so would be slightly less suspicious than anything else and would, perhaps, enable him to enjoy the gift once they reached the surface.

When they finally did surface out of the sewer system in Old City, lightning lit the sky, thunder following not far on its heels. Declan was right; this was an unseasonably strong storm. The lightning strikes were far too frequent to be entirely driven by the storm. Frowning up at the sky as they climbed out of the sewer system, Helen scanned the area for any sign of the hawk, her mind more on the bird than her companion.

"Helen..."

Nikola's voice startled her out of her thoughts. Glancing over at him, she took in the wide-eyed awe on his face, the slightly agape look to his mouth, the way his entire face had lit up with the light show above them. It looked like her plan may have worked; he certainly did seem to be enjoying this offering.

"You knew, didn't you?" he accused, once he had pulled himself together again. "Is this the real reason you wanted to bring me up here?"

She nodded, pursing her lips to hide her smile even as she looped her arm around his and started guiding them both through the dark streets of Old City. "I thought you could use a good storm to cheer you up. I know how much you've always liked them."

"Well... I have to admit... it's working."

He seemed half delirious with delight. She lost the battle to hide her smile. 

"Come on. You can ogle the storm later. I _did_ bring you up to help capture a hawk."

"Really, Helen?" he pouted. "And here I thought you might want to pamper me for once."

She leaned in with a conspiratorial smirk and lowered her voice. "Wrong time, wrong _place_ for that."

With a wink, she let him go, reversing their traditional roles. Typically, Nikola did the overt flirting, but Helen had always reserved the right to reciprocate if she thought doing so might serve her purposes. Bonus points if she caught him off guard. That was always the most fun. 

She heard him expel a huff of air in something akin to a quiet laugh and she grinned underneath the brim of her hat. He didn't seem to care that he was getting wet, but she preferred not to draw attention to herself. That and getting soaked was not high on her list of things to do. She might have something of an immunity to most illnesses, definitely the common cold, due to the Source Blood in her veins, but that didn't mean she _liked_ the feeling of being sopping wet if she could avoid it. Chances were she wouldn't be able to for the entire time they were out here; she would try nonetheless. 

Another bolt of lightning crackled through the air, followed closely by a peel of thunder. Helen followed the trajectory, looking specifically for the bird. Nothing was turning up on her scans, either, when she pulled out some of the Praxian scanning tech to supplement her search. Nikola's low but excited mutterings nearby weren't helping.

"Look at that beauty," he breathed. "Have you ever seen anything that magnificent before in your life?"

"I think you said something similar when we met Afina," Helen prodded, turning the scanner around. It finally pinged something in the distance. Her frown deepened as she followed its path.

"Nice of you to bring that up," Nikola sulked as he caught up to her. "I agree to go on this ground-breaking trip to the Surface and this is how you repay me?"

"Brought you a storm, didn't I?" Helen pointed out. 

"I thought _I_ was the storm in your life," he flirted shamelessly in return, just as another bolt of lightning struck a building nearby.

She rolled her eyes, thinking the timing was intentional somehow. "Oh dear lord."

His shameless smirk followed her as she moved onward. It took them about an hour to locate the bird. During that time, Helen counted no fewer than thirty lightning bug Abnormals, far more of the _photuris lucicrescens fulmens_ species than would normally be seen. Most likely this supply of its preferred food was why the hawk was this far northwest. 

The scanner pinged again and this time, as the lightning flash faded, Helen could see the outline of the hawk high up in the sky, tilted sideways as it banked through the air. Or at least it would be banking were it a normal bird. Helen knew it wasn't _just_ turning in the air; it was also aiming the lightning, acting like a lightning rod of sorts to guide the energy in each bolt. The maneuver was both a way of hunting and used as a defensive mechanism. The bird could kill both its prey and any personal threats with the same move, a move that made it much more dangerous to Helen and Nikola.

Ignoring Nikola's mutterings about the storm behind her, Helen knelt down to pull out the Slinger and its counterpart from her backpack. Priming one, she handed it to Nikola, nodding her head in the direction of the bird. He was a bit too distracted to pay much attention and she sighed.

" _Nikola_ ," she hissed to catch his attention. "Focus."

"I am focused, Helen," he breathed, wrapping a hand around the weapon even as he stepped a little closer to the bird and the storm. "This storm is magnificent."

"We are here for the bird first," she reminded him, placing a hand against his shoulder and turning him so he was facing her. Pointedly. "You can enjoy the storm _after_ we've made our capture."

That seemed to snap him out of his reverie. His brows knit and he finally huffed out an exasperated breath. "Fine. What are we doing?"

"We need to wait for the hawk to dive for its prey," she explained, keeping one eye on the bird and one on the scanner. "I'll set up a net underneath it with this. I need you to shoot the net on my mark. We won't be able to generate enough electricity to knock it out, but the Slingers have tranquilizers built in this time. Between the two of us, we should generate enough to knock it unconscious long enough for transport." 

"'Slingers?'" Nikola questioned incredulously. "Wolfboy still hasn't renamed these?"

"'Fraid not. Though you don't have much room to talk about invention names," she pointed out, hiding a grin.

He wrinkled his nose in distaste, though he didn't protest.

Another bolt of lightning cut off their banter. Helen raised her weapon in preparation as the scanner detailed the trajectory of the bolt. The bird dove and Helen shot, aiming the Slinger for the spot the bird was shooting towards. A net sprang up across a patch of grass.

"Now!" she yelled to Nikola.

He shot next, just as the bird tried to level out. A new net caught it, dropping it straight onto the first, and even as the bird struggled, they knew they had caught it. Helen pushed a button on her Slinger, activating the delayed release for the tranquilizer rounds and soon enough the bird began to calm. It stopped flapping its wings, but only after its vital sign readings told her it really was unconscious did she move forward to remove the nets. Careful not to bend any feathers, she tucked it into the transport carrier and turned to leave.

" _Now_ you can enjoy the storm," she teased Nikola gently. 

A grin was his only response and for a few long minutes they simply stood there in the rain and watched the storm. Helen was beginning to think that bringing Nikola up to see a storm like this was really one of the best things she could have done for him. He seemed to be in metaphorical heaven and she liked seeing him this happy. 

Unfortunately, their euphoria didn't last. Another flash of lightning pinged her scanner. A quick glance told her why.

"Bloody hell! There's a _second one!_ "

Nikola didn't seem to have heard her. He was apparently too engrossed in the light show rather than the fact that the storm seemed to be picking up in intensity.

"Ohhh, this is not good," she muttered. "I'll wager the other one saw what we did. It won't be pleased. Nikola, we need to _move._ "

"Five more minutes," he requested.

"We don't _have_ five minutes," she insisted, watching as the new bird began to tilt. "The next lightning bolt to strike it will be redirected to _us_. We have to go―"

She didn't get a chance to finish that thought. Another bolt struck the second bird. Using its considerable durability and resistance to electromagnetic energy, the bird channeled the energy through its body and directed it downwards. Helen didn't get a chance to dodge. The bolt hit Nikola squarely, chaining the remaining energy to her. She felt the heat, felt her eyes burning with the brightness of the flash. It was like being hit with the energy from one of Adam Worth's time nodes on a much more massive scale. 

She yelped, feeling her feet lift off the ground before her back slammed _into_ the ground. Fighting the urge to give into the siren call of unconsciousness, she saw Nikola hit the ground a good distance away. Hail fell around her and the last thing she found herself thinking was that she would consider herself lucky if the only thing that happened to the two of them was a couple of bruises. 

"Nikola," just barely escaped her lips before she lost the battle to the dark abyss.


	3. We've Had Our Share of Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don't think I'm going to forgive you," he complains next as he stands slowly and waits for the hawk to decide it wants to either attack or flee. Whether he's talking to the hawk or Helen, even he isn't sure.

For all that Nikola might be technically immortal and more or less impossible to kill, he can’t exactly say that he’s never been hurt. Pain might not be the same for him as it is for most _mortal_ people, but it’s hardly something he’s unfamiliar with. He can remember getting shot more times than he really cares to count by Helen alone. Not to mention various wooden or metal instruments impaling him for some reason or another. Falling asleep in Edison’s electric chair could also count. 

But nothing would ever quite hit him the way that bolt of lightning had. 

Naturally, he stirs first, having only been out for a handful of seconds. At least that’s according to the scanner on Helen’s wrist, once he crawls his way over to her. Her clothes are singed, his are practically ruined, and one or the other of them is still smoking ― most likely him ― but they’re both alive. A quick check of her vitals via the scanner and his own senses tells him that much. She’s breathing and he can hear her heartbeat; that’s enough for now. They still have an Abnormal hawk to capture. A _second_ Abnormal hawk. 

“Oh sure, fall asleep on the job,” he huffs at Helen’s body, as though she can still hear him. As though he isn’t worried about her. “It’s not like I need you or anything.”

The scanner pings with a flash of lightning and he sucks in a breath. Without Helen awake to give him some sort of direction on the whole thing, he feels as though he’s running blind. This isn’t unusual, given that half of the things he does are the result of formulating an idea and then running with it half-planned, but this feels different somehow. More important. 

At least he knows he can get struck by lightning and survive. It wasn’t much of a surprise, but it’s still good to know all the same.

The scanner pings another time, the flash of lightning catching his attention at the same instant. The bird is still in the air, apparently upset that its mate is suddenly gone. Nikola isn’t exactly the Abnormal Whisperer, but he can’t help wishing that for once he could talk to the damned thing and tell it that a) its mate is fine and b) it’ll survive better if it comes with him.

“How the mighty have fallen,” he mocks himself before he straps the scanner onto his own wrist and prepares for the fight he knows will come. If he could find the Slinger ― _god_ what a tacky name ― he might have a better time of this, but he doesn’t have enough time to do a proper search. Not if he wants to be sure Helen will wake up. He doesn't know this species nearly as well as she does, which puts another layer of _why_ to the whole thing.

"Don't think I'm going to forgive you," he complains next as he stands slowly and waits for the hawk to decide it wants to either attack or flee. Whether he's talking to the hawk or Helen, even he isn't sure. 

Neither of them respond, however, which leaves him to stalk the bird on his own. Sort of. He isn't about to leave Helen's unconscious body, but neither is he going to take his eye off the hawk. This leaves him to track the thing and hope he can fend off its attacks until she wakes.

Another thought occurs to him and he groans inwardly. Kneeling back down next to Helen's body, he carefully roots around in the pockets of her jacket ― making absolutely certain not to touch anything untoward, especially while she can't make any sort of motion in her own defense ― he wraps his fingers around her holoprojector when he finally finds it and pulls it out. Activating it, he throws his pride out into the storm for the sake of the woman lying next to him.

"William, Heinrich. I hope you're ready to travel," he comments to the holographic image of the two men.

Heinrich's eyebrows arch in confusion. "Tesla? You're kidding, right? I thought you and the Doc had this."

Nikola resists inhaling through his nose and settles for grumpily answering with, "Yeah, well, the _two_ hawks had other ideas."

William's eyebrows make a valiant effort to join his hairline. " _Two_?"

"Yes, two."

"What the hell happened?"

"Look, we don't have time for explanations. Helen decided to take a nap. I can't capture the second Abnormal and make sure she doesn't get struck at the same time. So either you book it to the Surface or we'll be stuck here for hours."

William rubs a hand down his forehead and shoots a pointed look at Heinrich. "I told you. This is why I suggested we follow."

"Oh, so you're close? Excellent. That will make things easier if you decide to stop talking and start _helping_."

Heinrich and William both shoot him something of a glare, like he's just hit some button of theirs, but they agree to come up anyway. Nikola knows they'll have questions and the state of his suit is nothing like what he'd prefer to be seen in, but he doesn't have many options at this point.

"I'm blaming you, _Gregory_ ," he huffs as the hologram fades away again. "Your little parlor trick in Bhalasaam paved the way for Abnormals everywhere wanting to _electrocute_ me. It's not even fair since I can't shock anything in return."

Much as he might grumble at Gregory Magnus' memory, it does help pass the time. Less than an hour of lightning dodging and redirecting passes before William and Heinrich turn up, soaked through and glaring at him.

"You didn't tell us it was storming so hard up here!" 

"Next time do your research before coming up to help," he snipes.

"We _did_ , thanks," William growls. "Oh and by the way, it might help you if you decide to dress in something remotely appropriate, rather than look like you just dropped out of a shredder."

" _I was struck by lightning; thank you for asking._ "

"Gentle... men..."

The soft voice from the ground has all three of them kneeling down next to Helen's body. By now, she's managed to roll herself over onto her back, but she hasn't quite sat up yet. The scanner pings, but Nikola shoves it off at Heinrich, unwilling to give it any quarter of his attention while he is yet unsure of Helen's status. She glances at him, a hand reaching to rest on his knee, and he takes it for the moment of reassurance that it is. She'll be all right; he has to be satisfied with that.

"We need to capture that bird," she says, finally pushing herself upright. Worry clouds Nikola's eyes, but he knows better than to tell her to lie back down. 

"It's been hanging around playing shoot the vampire with me for an hour," he complains instead. Through her next glance, he can tell that she understands what he _isn't_ saying: that he was watching out for her the entire time and that's why the bird hasn't been caught yet. 

"It might need a decent target," she continues, glancing at all of them. 

William's face morphs, turning surprised and then insistent. " _No._ "

"I've already been defeated," she points out. "I need Henry and Nikola to work the technology to capture it. You're the only option, Will."

"Magnus―" William abruptly cuts himself off with a frustrated huff before he brandishes a finger at Nikola. "If this was your idea to keep me hopping around like a rabbit, I will personally shoot you when we're done."

Before anyone can protest, he stands and walks off. 

Helen gives Heinrich and Nikola a _What can you do_ sort of look as she nods to them to get going. Nikola has just enough time to protest before she's pushing herself to her feet again. Damn her Source Blood-given durability. 

"Uh what about this?" Heinrich asks, holding up the scanner. 

Helen holds out her hand for it, turning it so she can see properly. Nikola takes up a position at one side and Heinrich takes the other, presumably to stay away from him for a bit. He can see her out of the corner of his eye, watching the scanner ping every so often as William walks around a bit. Lightning flashes and the remaining bird banks hard.

"Now, Nikola!" Helen cries, pointing in the bait's direction. "Lay the groundwork!"

With two fluid shots, Nikola fires the Slinger. A second later, he drops the weapon on the ground as she falters. The groundwork Helen requested falls into place and as the bird banks again, Heinrich shoots his end. It's up to him now, as Nikola stopped caring the second he caught Helen in his arms. Apparently she's still a little worse off than she'd like to be.

Unsurprisingly. 

The bird comes down with another shock, just like the first one did, and they quickly wrap the two up together for transport. Dallas is a bit of a journey, but one Helen has made countless times. The only question is whether or not Nikola will go with her and given her level of exhaustion so far, he's fairly certain he would never leave her like this. 

As the birds get settled into their transport carriers, William glares from Helen to Nikola and back. "Just once, I'd appreciate it if you could find an Abnormal that comes to me _because it likes me_ ," he snaps.

Nikola manages to resist saying anything, but the look he trades with Helen behind the children's backs says everything his voice doesn't: William must have some hidden magnetism going on. Nikola could give him pointers.

The idea of giving William pointers about anything has Nikola's trademark smirk curling across his lips for the remainder of the night and he _knows_ the children know something is up, but he can't bring himself to care.


	4. Your heart got a story with mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Instead, she reached up to turn off the one remaining light just as he flicked his wrist to close the curtains over the window. The light bulb flashed blue, the room went totally dark, and both Helen and Nikola groaned.

Transporting the hawk Abnormals proved to be relatively easy for two people. Helen had asked Will and Henry if they wanted to come to Dallas with her and both had said no thanks. Neither really wanted to deal much more with Tesla at the moment and besides, one of the Slingers burst some power source and needed to be remodeled. Helen promptly made the request again to have the name changed. She had no idea if Henry would remember this time, but she hoped so. She was tired of imagining all the ways in which Nikola could flirt shamelessly with her by using that name. Honestly, she was surprised he hadn't done it yet. 

Not that she was exactly complaining, but it was still a surprise all the same.

Either way, Will decided to stay home to keep an eye on the Sanctuary while she and Nikola went topside and she _was_ grateful, even if she did have to bear a bit of pointed teasing at the fact that she'd said they wouldn't need help last time and had ended up needing just that. More than one, "I told you so," was exchanged, which she took with relative good grace. 

So it was that Helen and Nikola brought the two hawks to Dallas alone, heading for what had once been the Dallas Sanctuary. At Declan's suggestion, all the remaining above-ground Sanctuaries had been turned into museums of "fictional creatures," with an on-site hotel to accommodate non-local guests. The fees paid for the hotel and museums kept everything going and ensured that the locked tight basements could still function as Sanctuaries for any Abnormals that came in needing temporary housing. Those Abnormals would eventually be relocated and either released or sent underground, but at least each former Sanctuary would still have the means to help. It was risky business, of course, but all of them had agreed that it was in the best interests of the Abnormal communities, so they would absolutely uphold the idea. Helen doubted she and Nikola would be seeing much of the actual Dallas museum and that was all right with her. 

The head of the Dallas Sanctuary, Scarlett Landon, met them just inside, shuffling them away from the crowds and the security cameras so they could slip downstairs and into the basement without being caught or recognized. Once down, Scarlett opened up a nice enclosure for the birds, temporary housing until the next storm arrived so they could release the Abnormals properly. Helen knew they would be in good hands with Scarlett. 

"Why don't you two stay the night?" Scarlett asked as they ascended the back stairs to come up out of the basement by the old servants' hallways. "It's a long way back and you should have a rest before you go."

Helen glanced at Nikola, eyebrows raised. He shrugged in response, his nonchalant way of saying that he wouldn't mind. 

"All right. If you've room for us."

"Sure do. I'll mark off the two best rooms for you―"

"Just one," Helen interrupted. There was no need anymore to keep separate, not when they were sharing her bedroom suite back in the Underground Sanctuary. Besides, she wasn't sure they knew how to do anything else, even if Nikola _didn't_ always sleep when she did.

Scarlett's eyebrows arched slightly. "One, then. Come on. I'll set you up in our prime room. You'll love it."

She wasn't kidding, Helen decided later, gazing out of the window at the scenery. They were facing away from the city itself and were luckily far enough away not to have _too_ much sprawling urban cityscape, but what they did have was lovely. Helen didn't mind it at all.

Turning back to the large bedroom suite and Nikola's form sprawled out on the bed, she slipped in next to him, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek. She never was a particularly sappy person out in public and neither was he; the bedroom had become something of a space where they could do more of that and feel comfortable in every way with each other. In response to her motion, he tilted his head and kissed her fully. 

"Thank you, Nikola," she murmured, once he had released her mouth. 

"For what?" he replied with that arrogant smile of his she both loved and was frustrated by.

"For helping me capture those two Abnormals and coming all the way down here."

He ran a hand through her hair, that smirk morphing minutely into something else, something he only ever gave to her. "You gave me a storm. I wouldn't have missed any of it."

"Are you staying the night?" she asked, knowing there was always a chance his wanderlust would have him up and about. It wasn't as though he _needed_ to sleep like she did. As long as he came back to her and he always did.

"I thought I might. I _did_ get struck by lightning."

"Oh right. And it fried your suit. How exhausting," she teased relentlessly. "Thankfully you changed before we came down here."

"I would not be caught dead wearing any of that on a long trip," he retorted, sounding for all the world like he were actually offended. He wasn't and she could tell. "Unlike _some_ people, I have a sense of taste when it comes to dressing."

"Ah, yes, your impeccable taste in suits. How could I forget?"

But the smile she leveled at him suggested that she wasn't at all offended by the bantering turn this conversation had taken. Instead, she reached up to turn off the one remaining light just as he flicked his wrist to close the curtains over the window. The light bulb flashed blue, the room went totally dark, and both Helen and Nikola groaned. Helen let gravity take her down, flopping onto the bed. She could feel Nikola getting up from the bed and heard him rooting around in the bathroom for a few minutes before he returned to her side of the bed. A moment later, the light flicked back on. A frown creased Helen's brow as she noticed that Nikola hadn't even changed the light bulbs yet.

"I guess it didn't need to be changed after all...?"

Her voice trailed off as she took in the look of wonder on his face. What on earth...?

"Helen," he breathed finally, removing his hand from the light stand. The room went dark again and then the light returned. His hand was back on the light. "It's back. The lightning must've shocked my system."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

The light turned on a few seconds later. 

"I'm _electro_ magnetic, Helen. It's not the electrical system doing this. It's _me_."

He sounded utterly delighted by this fact, though to his credit, he did at least finish changing the light bulb. She heard him pad across the room and into the bathroom. The lights in there flicked on and off a couple of times, followed closely by his happy laughter, which she did love to hear, and a groan from Helen.

"Nikola, I know you're happy to have that back, but you are _not_ to go running around the hotel turning on lights. I'd have a hell of a time covering that one up."

"And you're supposed to be dead, I know," he huffed, finally moving back into the room with her. "Fine. I'll stay. I won't go call Heinrich and William to let them know that the lightning strike didn't have any lasting damage aside from my _suit_. Or that they could have believed the truth―"

Another groan escaped Helen. "Oh dear lord, Nikola. Either go to sleep or go wander the halls _intelligently_ , but at least let _me_ sleep."

He huffed one more time, but the sheets and comforter shifted as he slid back down next to her. She rolled over so her back was to him, as she liked to be if he deigned to fall asleep with her. His arm wrapped around her and she leaned back against him for a few moments, just glad to feel him against her. 

"You have to admit, Helen... it is pretty _shocking_."

She elbowed him in the stomach for that one and they both spent the next five minutes laughing. Despite his terrible jokes and the fact that he was likely to be impossible for the next few months because of this new reemergence of his power, she couldn't help enjoying everything about him.


	5. But all your flaws and scars are mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So he waited a few hours. Bothered Heinrich for most of that time, though he didn't make mention of the resurgence of his electric powers. Eventually, he wandered out of the lab and down to the offices, as though he were bored and had nothing better to do. In reality, he had a bone to pick with William.

The rest of the night was quiet. Even though Nikola didn’t so much sleep as close his eyes and doze a bit ― he never _did_ need much sleep considering his heritage ― he refrained from making things _too_ difficult for Helen while she slept. She had never been much of one for sleep, either, for completely unrelated reasons, so he usually had the grace to let her when she decided she needed to. Most of the night was spent in bed with her, taking care not to wake her, but by the time she _did_ wake of her own volition, he was in the bathroom playing with the broken lightbulb.

Likely to no one’s surprise.

He could sense the moment her breathing returned to normal as she woke up, the slight spike to her resting heartrate, and the sound of her rustling and then padding over to find him. Folding her arms over her chest, she leaned against the door frame with a fondly exasperated look on her face. 

“I knew I’d find you in here.”

He glanced up at her, watching how lovely she looked even when she’d just rolled out of bed. Disheveled hair meant nothing to her beauty; he could drown in her if she would ever let him. 

His trademark grin slowly crossed his face as he settled back just a little bit and offered, “Well, I was playing with this little light of mine, but since you’re here now, I don’t think I need to bother. Nothing can out-shine you.”

“Oh, dear lord,” she huffed as she rolled her eyes, though there was no heat to it. He knew she loved his advances; otherwise, she would have put a full stop to them a long, long time ago. “Go on. Turn the lights on.”

She was humoring him and he knew it, but he didn’t care. Placing a hand over the light switch, he used his electromagnetism to turn the lights on, glad to see that it still worked. That was one parlor trick he had missed dearly. 

“Are we still planning to leave in a few hours?” he asked conversationally as Helen moved into the bathroom to get ready for the day. 

“May as well stick to the schedule,” she commented in response, shooting him a pointed glance. “Try not to be a menace with your new lightning power.”

“It’s not new,” he pointed out, but with that normal grin on his face, he pressed a kiss to her cheek and headed out into the bedroom to change his own clothes and prepare for their journey home.

As much as he might like to wander around at times, nothing would ever quite feel like home the way Old City and the Underground Sanctuary had become. He attributed that at least in part to Helen. Home was where she was.

Helen was lucky enough today. A storm blew in and they were able to release the hawks before she left. For Nikola, it wasn't anything particularly brilliant to watch the birds, but he would always treasure that beautiful smile on Helen's face. She was pleased that they could stay long enough to release the abnormals and if she was pleased, then Nikola could say he was, too. 

After all, he would move the moon to make her happy. 

Experiencing another storm on the surface didn't exactly hurt for him, either.

Eventually, they made their way back down underground, leaving behind the beautiful storms and trading them for the wonder of Hollow Earth. Helen, of course, headed off to see how things had gone in her absence. Likely to check on William. Ironically, that was where Nikola wanted to be, but he didn't quite want to go at the same time as Helen. She would blow his secret and his cover and he didn't want that just yet. 

So he waited a few hours. Bothered Heinrich for most of that time, though he didn't make mention of the resurgence of his electric powers. Eventually, he wandered out of the lab and down to the offices, as though he were bored and had nothing better to do. In reality, he had a bone to pick with William. 

Someone still wasn't over the doubt he had been shown while they were capturing the hawks. 

Nikola's senses told him that William was in his office and alone, which was the important part. Keeping his steps very quiet as he moved forward, Nikola pressed a hand to the wall where he could feel the electric currents, turning them off without even hitting the switches. 

"What the _hell_ ," was William's response.

With that grin still in place, Nikola pulled out the broken lightbulb from Dallas, letting his electricity turn it on. 

"I told you it was a lightning strike," he all but purred, grin widening at William's look of disbelief and _irritation_. Mission accomplished. 

"So you get struck by lightning and suddenly your power comes back?"

Nikola shrugged like it really was no big deal. "I guess it just needed to be recharged."

William brandished a finger in Nikola's direction, clearly unappreciative of his joke. "You need to wipe that shit-eating grin off your face right now."

" _Nah._ "

He could practically hear William's growl of annoyance as Nikola flicked the lights back on and turned back to head out of the room again. And, in order to add the maximum level of irritation to William's plate, he started singing, "It's electric. Boogie-woogie-woogie."

Not because he actually _enjoyed_ that song, but the sound of the door slamming behind him was more than enough satisfaction for him.


End file.
